Man Accused in Safeway Purse Theft Gets Probation

The man who pleaded no contest to a purse from the Belmont Safeway store on El Camino Real in January has been sentenced to three years probation in San Mateo County Superior Court.

Mark Damon Taylor, 44, in March to felony theft with a prior conviction and felony identity theft in exchange for a maximum of 90 days in county jail, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.

On Friday, he was sentenced to three years of probation and was accepted into the Pathways Mental Health Treatment Court due to his reported mental health issues, according to the District Attorney's Office.

He was also given two days in jail with credit for time served.

Taylor, who was March 1 in connection with the January purse theft, initially to the crime.

Store surveillance tapes allegedly captured Taylor carrying away the purse of a 79-year-old San Carlos woman, who was shopping at the Safeway store at 1100 El Camino Real. She had placed her purse in the child seat portion of her shopping cart while shopping.

Sometime between 5:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., the woman walked away from her cart to gather some items and her purse was taken.

After a review of the store security cameras, investigators were able to learn that an African-American male with a stocky build took the purse from the victim’s shopping cart when the victim’s attention was elsewhere.

Store security cameras then show the male suspect leaving the store with the victim’s purse. The male suspect was apparently in the company of an African American female, who left the store a short time later. Some of the victim’s credit cards were later used in San Mateo.

Taylor was subsequently arrested as a result of tips that were received by Belmont police following the release of Taylor's photo.

Taylor has been out of custody on a $10,000 bail bond.

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